What are Extreme Sports?

” Extreme sports are recreational activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear.

The definition of an extreme sport is not exact and the origin of the term is unclear, but it gained popularity in the 1990s when it was picked up by marketing companies to promote the X Games and when the Extreme Sports Channel and Extreme.com launched. More recently, the commonly used definition from research is “a competitive (comparison or self-evaluative) activity within which the participant is subjected to natural or unusual physical and mental challenges such as speed, height, depth or natural forces and where fast and accurate cognitive-perceptual processing may be required for a successful outcome” by Dr. Rhonda Cohen (2012).

While the use of the term “extreme sport” has spread everywhere to describe a multitude of different activities, exactly which sports are considered ‘extreme’ is debatable. There are, however, several characteristics common to most extreme sports. While not the exclusive domain of youth, extreme sports tend to have a younger-than-average target demographic. Extreme sports are rarely sanctioned by schools. Extreme sports tend to be more solitary than traditional sports (rafting and paintballing are notable exceptions, as they are done in teams). In addition, beginning extreme athletes tend to work on their craft without the guidance of a coach (though some may hire a coach later).

Activities categorized by media as extreme sports differ from traditional sports due to the higher number of inherently uncontrollable variables. These environmental variables are frequently weather and terrain related, including wind, snow, water, and mountains. Because these natural phenomena cannot be controlled, they inevitably affect the outcome of the given activity or event.” https://www.google.hn/search?biw=1242&bih=535&tbs=sur%3Afm&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=ivb3WbzLOeuX0wLksr7IDg&q=extreme+sports&oq=extreme+sports&gs_l=psy-ab.3…403688.406221.0.406392.14.9.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0….0…1.1.64.psy-ab..14.0.0….0.5xjm-SF5oic#imgrc=o8arbNs2uFNqzM: